The Bookening

Thank you to everyone who helped us continue our Narnia series. Now, our heroes talk about The Silver Chair. The heroic optimism (yeah, optimism) of Puddleglum, claustrophobia in stories about caves, Neo-platonism, the dumbness of Pascal's wager as it related to C. S. Lewis, and more. Support us here! No, seriously, we could use your support these days. Thank you in advance! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Jake really loves this book. Brandon does not as much. Thus disagreement stalks The Bookening crew in this episode, as Brandon goes on the attack against some of the more, shall we say, mystical elements of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And, after about 45 minutes, Jake goes on the defense, because he just really likes the boy's adventure of this book. All this and more. Support us here! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our heroes discuss Prince Caspian, a novel that they really liked, except for some weird pagan stuff at the end. What was Lewis doing there and why? Our heroes have plenty to say about that. But first they talk about many of the great things about the book, which may not rank that highly among Narnia rankers, but our heroes agree is a good one. LISTEN NOW!Support us here! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Our heroes discuss The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis's 'supposal' theory of allegory, whether these books ARE allegory or not, what the book gets wrong and right about the resurrection, the importance of discipline in children's literature, which character Jake may or may not have named a kid after, and more ... Support us here! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Support us here!In which our heroes try to clean up some mess regarding C. S. Lewis and some of his more interesting opinions. And then talk about the baggage they bring to Lewis and Narnia. And predict which Narnia books they will like the most, and which they will like the least this time around.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Support us here!The Bookening provides some much needed context on C. S. Lewis, as our heroes embark on their multipart quest to talk through all The Chronicles of Narnia. Also, our heroes court a little controversy by having their usual issues with Lewis. But also, they really like him and are looking forward to talking through his books. But on the other hand, he has some issues that are, shall we say, problematic. But on the other hand, he's pretty great. LISTEN TO THE EPISODE! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Support us here! Brandon and Nathan hammer home their recent forays into poetry by reading and examining three poems together: The Wild Swans at Coole, The Art of Losing, and Digging. Next week Jake will be back and we'll start on Narnia! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Support us here!Brandon is still recovering from ACL surgery, so Nathan, Jake, and Dubstep Dani (the mom who's a bomb of reading) review Witness for the Prosecution, the wonderful 1957 feature film starring Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Support us here!Chillax and join us for a mellow summer episode. After teaching you how to make the perfect margarita (no, seriously), Nathan walks you through his top ten summer reads. What about Brandon and Jake you ask? Well, one of them is on vacation and one is recovering from surgery. So Nathan decided to do this ultra-rare solo outing. The good news is you get to hear about a great detective, spoooooky psychology, an inimitable humorist, plus Jordan Peterson and Stephen King? Oh my.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Support us here!Do women like poetry? Our heroes answer this horribly sexist question in this episode. And then Brandon at long last gives us a linear discussion of poetry.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★